<b>EXPLORING K-12 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) EDUCATION THROUGH A HOLISTIC VIEW: EMPOWERING STUDENTS AND TEACHERS</b>

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation consists of five chapters. The first chapter outlines the overall goal of this discussion and gives a brief introduction to the three studies, along with their significance. Accordingly, chapters two, three, and four respectively present the three studies in this discussion. Subsequently, the fifth chapter synthesizes the conclusions drawn from all three studies and provides a discussion of K-12 AI education to empower teachers and students. Chapter 2 describes Study One, which involved the development and pilot implementation of an AI education program based on existing literature and learning theories. This case study demonstrates how AI education can be developed and implemented, even for young learners. Chapter 3 describes Study Two, which qualitatively investigated the potential AI integration barriers faced by five early adopter teachers who piloted an AI education ahead of its proposed full implementation in 2025. Chapter 4 introduces a meta-analysis study, which aimed at assessing the effectiveness of K-12 AI education in enhancing AI literacy. In addition, this study seeks to identify strategies to support the effectiveness of K-12 AI education interventions on AI literacy. Overall, considering the nascent stage of research in this field, a thorough analysis was conducted to synthesize existing cases of AI education classes, which focused on their impact on improving learners' AI literacy.</p>